The endocannabinoid system isn't something most of us learned about in health class. But a growing body of research is revealing how much it contributes to our health and well-being. All animals––including us––have an endocannabinoid system.

It's a communication network of signaling molecules that regulates and coordinates the processes and responses that keep our minds and bodies functional and healthy. An analogy we use around the lab is that the endocannabinoid system is like a 'traffic director': when it's working correctly, it tells the body's construction crews where to go, how long to stay, how hard to work, and when they're on break. When the body is in need of some repair, it's this system's job to get the crews to the right places. 

If your endocannabinoid system is not functioning quite as well as it should, you may feel the effects in symptoms like lingering pain, anxiety, or the inability to fall or stay asleep.

Our bodies prefer to be in homeostasis––or a 'state of balance'––which is where most people tend to feel their best. The problem, of course, is that life has a way of disrupting this balance. Everything from injuries, inflammation, and stress to related psychological and emotional effects such as anxiety help keep the body safe... but we all know what it's like when pain or anxiety becomes the source of the problem.

Fortunately, research is uncovering the potential of CBD to help some people who experience these issues find relief. To use another analogy, if we think of the endocannabinoid system like a thermostat, CBD is what can help it switch the body's natural processes on or off (like heating or cooling systems) to keep it at a more comfortable equilibrium. 

The endocannabinoid system is among the body's many systems––including the nervous, immune, and cardiovascular systems––that operate to keep us healthy. It's a widespread system that is involved in restoring homeostasis (normality) after pathologic insult (disease) or trauma––which in this medical context can refer to anything from an injury (bad!) to natural recovery from exercise (good!).

A functional quality all of these systems share is the need for molecules that are secreted into body fluids by one group of cells and attached to receptors on nearby cells downstream. These receptors, in turn, switch on a specific response, such as nerve transmission, or an immune attack on an invading organism, for example.

For working order to be maintained in our bodies, however, the stimulation of these receptors must be balanced by mechanisms that put on the brakes. The inadequate inhibition of stimulatory responses is present in diseases such as seizures, muscle spasms, auto-immune diseases, and even the over-exuberant immune response to influenza or COVID-19.

The endocannabinoid system is a modulatory system, which in the nervous system runs in the opposite direction of neurotransmitter-mediated nerve pulses to prevent overstimulation. When we are stressed, the number of cannabinoid receptors in our bodies actually increases, augmenting their effect. If the secretory cells can manufacture enough endocannabinoid, such as anandamide, to bind to these receptors, then they can dampen over-active responses in the system. Supplementing the internal endocannabinoids, then, may assist in restoring normalcy––or homeostasis––in the system.

 Interestingly, this 'modulation' of nerve conduction can result in psychotropic effects such as the 'runner's high' or the euphoria associated with the use of THC, which might ordinarily be considered stimulatory responses. Although the mechanism of these phenomena is not fully understood, perhaps moving into a more balanced state from the stress of modern life is associated with feelings of pleasure. That the endocannabinoid system is modulatory and not directly responsible for stimulating effects is the reason that exocannabinoids such as CBD and even THC are so safe. Even at very high doses, the side effects are not life-threatening (acute overdose does not occur) and few tissues seem to be damaged from chronic administration.

Though CBD produces none of the psychotropic effects associated with THC, it appears to be able to modify the effects of THC. For instance, THC reliably produces reductions in anxiety at low doses and increases in higher doses, but coadministration of CBD with THC eliminates the anxiety experienced at higher doses. On its own, CBD shows some evidence of anxiety reduction. Cognition deficits associated with THC use appear to be ameliorate by coadministration of CBD. THC has analgesic (pain-relieving) qualities which may be potentiated by co-administration of CBD. 

Busquet-Garcia A et al CB1 signaling in the brain Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews 2018 434-20.

Boggs DL et al CBD and THC Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews 2018 43:142-154.